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> The solution is simple: legislate so the very wealthy can't avoid it, while remaining in the country. ... then they'll leave the country. I don't think you'

by xienze 8y ago

> The solution is simple: legislate so the very wealthy can't avoid it, while remaining in the country. ... then they'll leave the country. I don't think you've thought this through.

fizx 8y ago
At least in the USA, its very hard to expatriate to avoid taxes. IIRC it requires a one-time payment of ~40% of your net-worth and you to have citizenship somewhere else. Other countries could follow suit, though the USA probably has the easiest time enforcing due to its global hegemony.
munk-a 8y ago
America has a real problem with money in politics which has prevented strong penalties on top earners. But, the US does currently levy a minimum tax total for overseas personal income, it basically can be summarized as "If you earned X in the US you'd owe us Y, you payed the government of the country you're residing in Z which is less than Y, you owe the US government Y-Z", this law is extremely poorly enforced currently but even if they leave the country they still owe the taxes, legally speaking. If they flee to other countries and illegally circumvent the law then that's where the US should start flexing it's muscles.
- xienze 8y ago
  Yep, and you can just renounce your US citizenship. That Facebook guy did it a couple years ago.
manicdee 8y ago
How do you take real estate out of the country?
magduf 8y ago
1) As the other poster said, how do you take real estate out of the country? 2) Where are they going to go? Somalia? Other countries are going to tax them at least as much. These rich people aren't idle rich, they're rich because they're working in some capacity. You can't do that in Somalia. They get their wealth from being located here. That means they can be taxed here.
- xienze 8y ago
  >As the other poster said, how do you take real estate out of the country? Sell it. Or don't, it's their choice. At some point real estate holdings aren't worth it if your host country decides it's entitled to 95% of your wealth. >Where are they going to go? Somalia? Other countries are going to tax them at least as much. There will always be another first-world country more than willing to undercut other first-world countries for the opportunity to host wealthy citizens. It's the same principle that gets us to where we are today, with states competing against each other to give tax breaks to corporations to entice them to set up shop. It's funny how there's no end to people complaining about how the wealthy always seem to get out of paying their "fair share" through loopholes, but THIS TIME, we've got a foolproof plan to redistribute their wealth that they can't weasel out of! Sure thing.
  - magduf 8y ago
    What exactly are these people going to do to earn money in these new countries? We're not talking about idle billionaires here, we're talking about very high-earning people.

by xienze 8y ago

> The solution is simple: legislate so the very wealthy can't avoid it, while remaining in the country. ... then they'll leave the country. I don't think you've thought this through.

fizx 8y ago

At least in the USA, its very hard to expatriate to avoid taxes. IIRC it requires a one-time payment of ~40% of your net-worth and you to have citizenship somewhere else. Other countries could follow suit, though the USA probably has the easiest time enforcing due to its global hegemony.

munk-a 8y ago

America has a real problem with money in politics which has prevented strong penalties on top earners. But, the US does currently levy a minimum tax total for overseas personal income, it basically can be summarized as "If you earned X in the US you'd owe us Y, you payed the government of the country you're residing in Z which is less than Y, you owe the US government Y-Z", this law is extremely poorly enforced currently but even if they leave the country they still owe the taxes, legally speaking. If they flee to other countries and illegally circumvent the law then that's where the US should start flexing it's muscles.

xienze 8y ago
Yep, and you can just renounce your US citizenship. That Facebook guy did it a couple years ago.

manicdee 8y ago

How do you take real estate out of the country?

magduf 8y ago

1) As the other poster said, how do you take real estate out of the country? 2) Where are they going to go? Somalia? Other countries are going to tax them at least as much. These rich people aren't idle rich, they're rich because they're working in some capacity. You can't do that in Somalia. They get their wealth from being located here. That means they can be taxed here.

xienze 8y ago
>As the other poster said, how do you take real estate out of the country? Sell it. Or don't, it's their choice. At some point real estate holdings aren't worth it if your host country decides it's entitled to 95% of your wealth. >Where are they going to go? Somalia? Other countries are going to tax them at least as much. There will always be another first-world country more than willing to undercut other first-world countries for the opportunity to host wealthy citizens. It's the same principle that gets us to where we are today, with states competing against each other to give tax breaks to corporations to entice them to set up shop. It's funny how there's no end to people complaining about how the wealthy always seem to get out of paying their "fair share" through loopholes, but THIS TIME, we've got a foolproof plan to redistribute their wealth that they can't weasel out of! Sure thing.
- magduf 8y ago
  What exactly are these people going to do to earn money in these new countries? We're not talking about idle billionaires here, we're talking about very high-earning people.